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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. cap — a hat
  5. court — of law
  6. cap — of ice
  7. fork — in a road
  8. staff — a stick
  9. scale — in music
  10. file — a line of people
  11. file — a tool
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. net — in sport
  15. court — of a king
  16. hand — in cards
  17. staff — employees
  18. scale — size or range
  19. net — after costs
  20. net — for catching
  21. staff — employees
  22. cap — a lid
  23. court — for sport
  24. file — a document

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com